James 1:17-18 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no ficklenss… It is not the things that come to you from the earth that will fill the void of your nature, but the things that come to you from heaven. You cannot call any gift that comes to you from below a good gift, for it is mixed with the evil of the earth, like the pure snow when it is soiled by the mud of the ground; or a perfect gift, because it is passing and perishing, and even when at its best it ear, not satisfy your nature. There is ever some drawback to the goodness of the gift that you get from below; some imperfection that, like the worm in the apple, spoils the beauty and the sweetness of it. It is about the things that come from below that people always quarrel; about their lands and wealth and houses and properties — all of the earth, earthy. These are the causes of the frequent strifes and jealousies and greeds that make life often so unhappy. People do not quarrel about the things that come from above — the sunshine and the rain and the sweet influences of the starry Pleiades; and the things of Divine grace from a higher source still — the love and the beauty of heaven. The things that come from above sweeten and ennoble life, reconcile and unite men to one another, and make one family, one loving brotherhood of the human race. (H. Macmillan, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. |
    |